India’s Most Unsafe Airline Indigo has been fined Rs 30 lakh for 4 Tail Strikes In 6 Months

Indigo has been fined Rs 30 lakh for frequent tail strike incidents. In the last six months, their A321 aircraft have seen 4 tail strikes.

IndiGo witnessed four tail strike incidents on A321 aircraft within a span of six months this year, following which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carried out a special audit of the airline.

Tail strikes can be a serious safety concern in aviation. They occur when the tail of an aircraft contacts the runway during takeoff or landing. This can be caused by pilot error, mechanical issues, or other factors.

The DGCA is the regulatory body in India responsible for civil aviation and ensures that airlines adhere to the necessary safety regulations. A special audit by the DGCA could entail a comprehensive inspection of the airline’s operations, including pilot training, maintenance protocols, safety procedures, and more, to determine if there were any underlying issues that could have contributed to the incidents.

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday imposed a ₹ 30 lakh fine on IndiGo for certain systemic deficiencies with respect to documentation pertaining to operations, training and engineering procedures.
The country’s largest airline witnessed four tail strike incidents on A321 aircraft within a span of six months this year, following which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carried out a special audit in June.

In a statement, IndiGo said it is examining the DGCA order and will respond to it in due time.

The regulator said that during the special audit, it reviewed the airline’s documentation and procedure on operations, training, engineering and FDM programme.

FDM refers to Flight Data Monitoring.

During the special audit, certain systemic deficiencies were observed in IndiGo’s documentation pertaining to operations/training procedures and engineering procedures.

A show cause notice was issued to the airline and DGCA said the carrier’s reply “was reviewed at various levels and was not found satisfactory”.

“Subsequently, DGCA has imposed a financial penalty of ₹ 30 lakh on IndiGo Airlines and also directed them to amend their documents and procedures in line with DGCA requirements and OEM guidelines,” the release said.

OEM refers to Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Earlier this week, DGCA suspended the flying licences of two IndiGo pilots for violating safety norms as the aircraft they operated suffered a tail strike while landing at the Ahmedabad airport last month.

Meanwhile, in its statement on Friday regarding the penalty, IndiGo said after the special audit done in June in the areas of documentation and procedure on operations, training, and FDM programme, the airline was given 15 days to submit its response.

“DGCA audit was presumably conducted in view of four tail strike incidents involving A321 aircraft in the past six months,” the airline said.

Further, IndiGo said responded to the show cause notice on July 19, indicating that there is no violation of procedures laid down by OEM and approved in the regulatory manuals.

“However, DGCA after review of IndiGo’s show cause notice has imposed a financial penalty of ₹ 30 lakh on 28 July 2023.

“IndiGo has been given one month time to possibly appeal against the order. IndiGo is examining the DGCA order and shall respond to the DGCA order in due time,” the airline said in the statement.

Further, IndiGo said it would like to assure its customers that the airline has zero tolerance to any safety compromise.

IndiGo is the country’s largest airline and had a domestic market share of 63.2 per cent in June, as per official data.

In June 2023 IndiGo airline announced that it has made a record order for 500 Airbus A320 aircraft. The massive expansion by the India’s largest airline comes as the aviation industry is witnessing more competition after the entry TATA Group.

In a statement, IndiGo airline termed the order as the largest-ever single aircraft purchase by any airline with Airbus and informed that the deliveries of the aircraft are expected between 2030 to 2035.

“This will provide the airline further steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035. This 500 aircraft order is not only IndiGo’s largest order, but also the largest-ever single aircraft purchase by any airline with Airbus,” the airline said in a statement.

But even this 500 plane deal could not remove the tag of India’s most unsafe airline from Indigo